As the mother of twins, I made a point that my two boys were going to grow up in their individuality. Society tends to try to lump twins together and make them the same person, when the truth is, most of the time they are different as day and night. I mentioned in “The Breath of Life” that when my twins were born, Tristan, who was born first, was not crying when they delivered him. It was when they pulled Brenden from the womb and he cried, that Tristan wailed in response. I made sure that while I wanted them to maintain their closeness growing up, I wanted them to be their own unique selves. Until they started school, they were inseparable. As infants, they slept in the same crib touching hands. As toddlers, where one went the other did as well. I never dressed them alike, I never made them get the same exact toys, and I never expected them to behave as the other. When they reached about the age of twelve, their personalities really began to show forth. Brenden is my stoic one. There was one day we were at Walmart, and he was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, this serious look, almost a scowl on his face. I asked him if he was okay, and without missing a beat, he slowly turned his head towards me, looked me dead in the eye and said, “I’m smiling on the inside.” Tristan on the other hand is my social butterfly, and if you have seen The Chosen, he is like Thomas. Being in the culinary industry, everything must be in perfect order or it makes him crazy. When he was as senior in high school, he had too many glass balls that he was trying to juggle. High School, concurrent college classes, cake decorating classes, he was an officer with FCCLA and working a job. There was a day those balls came crashing down, and he realized that there are times in your life, you are not always going to have it under control. Brenden is my warrior, having served his country in the National Guard, Tristan is my giver of hospitality, making sure that everyone leaves satisfied. Although they are different as different can be, they both have a servant’s heart, and this mama loves them both fiercely, with passion, and unconditionally. I would not have them change to be like each other for anything in this world.
To understand the book of Obadiah, you have to first understand the story of two brothers. Not just any two brothers, twins, and not just any twins. We must go back to the beginning, to Genesis and look at Jacob and Esau.
When the Lord blessed Rebekah, who was barren, she was blessed with twins. I can by experience tell you that when you are going through the pregnancy, it does not feel like a blessing, it feels like a war. And when she inquired of God about it, he told her “There are two nations in your womb. From birth they will be two rival peoples. One of these peoples will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.” Genesis 25:23 Thus, Jacob and Esau were born. If you are not familiar with the story of these brothers, Esau, the firstborn, was by tradition the one to receive the birthright and blessing from their father. Jacob, whose name means “he supplants”, ended up stealing both out from underneath Esau. The birthright when Esau valued food over his inheritance, and the blessing when Jacob at his mother’s instruction, tricked his father to obtain it. (Genesis 25:29-40) When Esau realized what happened, verse 41 says: Esav (Esau) hated his brother because of the blessing his father gave him. ‘Esav said to himself, “The time for mourning my father will come soon, and then I will kill my brother, Ya’akov. (Jacob)” In fear for his life, Jacob fled from his brother. By the time Jacob was ready to return home, he had increased in wealth and family, but was afraid and distressed about seeing his brother, so he sent gifts from his various flocks ahead of him in hope that in would soften his brother’s anger towards him. When the two met, Esau ran to meet him, hugged him, kissed his neck and wept. (If this sounds familiar, think of the parable of the Prodigal Son and the father’s reaction when his son came home.) Jacob became Israel, Esau became Edom. Two nations that warred within the womb would soon war with each other. The Edomites would develop a hatred for Israel over the lost birthright of Esau, thus feeling Jacob (Israel) cheated them out of their inheritance. Edom helped a foreign nation invade Jerusalem and rejoiced over its destruction. Obadiah was given a vision concerning the destruction of Edom, which is what the book foretells.
Starting in chapter 17 however, the tone changes to God’s restoration of Israel and the final verse reads: 21 And saviors shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the Lord’s. (KJV) The translation from the Jewish study bible reads a bit differently: 21 Then the victorious will ascend Mount Tziyon to rule over Mount ‘Esav, but the kingship will belong to Adonai.
Adonai, He is victorious, He is King, He is our Savior. But what does Savior mean? In the Greek, it means one who delivers from grave danger. However, in the Hebrew it means divine (heavenly) salvation has its focus on rescue from earthy enemies, as well as salvation from guilt and sin, avenged, and defend. It means to be well off, prosperous, to be freed and delivered.
Savior, or yasa in the Hebrew has a numeric value of 380. When I looked at what other words and phrases equal 380, my mouth literally fell open, and as my pastor used to say, “I don’t care if this doesn’t bless anyone else, it blesses me”. It is that huge to me. 380 also equals, “MY MAKER”. He saved me on the cross and made me not just in flesh but in spirit. He IS the LORD MY SAVIOR! For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but rather so that through Him, the world might be saved. John 3:17
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